Report: Owner Glen Taylor Exploring Selling the Timberwolves


Several parties reportedly have placed bids on the team.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has put the franchise up for sale and retained The Raine Group to handle the deal, according to Sportico's Scott Soshnick.

Sources told Soshnick that several parties have bid on the team and a sale could be "completed within a month."

Taylor reportedly doesn't want the sale to involve heavy public attention and asked Raine to keep the search for a buyer low key. A source said the sale of the team is not connected to financial struggles created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Raine has handled several high-profile sports deals, including U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake's $500 million investment into City Football Group, the parent of the Premier League's Manchester City.

Taylor, who purchased the franchise for $88 million in 1995, has a net worth around $3 billion. In February, Forbes estimated the Timberwolves' worth at $1.38 billion, and Taylor reportedly is seeking $1.2 billion for the team.

Minnesota has reached the playoffs just once in 15 years, with only two winning seasons during that span. The team found early success during Taylor's tenure thanks in part to star Kevin Garnett. However, Garnett has been a longtime critic of Taylor and refuses to have anything to do with the franchise, including a jersey retirement, as long as Taylor remains the owner.

The Timberwolves finished the 2019-20 season with a 19–45 record at the time of the NBA's coronavirus-induced hiatus on March 11. They were among eight teams not invited to the league's resumption in Orlando.